03 July 2023
The Ugandan government plans to provide high-speed internet connectivity to refugee camps across the country, according to Amina Zawedde, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and National Orientation..png?lu=885)
This initiative is part of Uganda's Universal Digital Transformation Acceleration Program. This program is supported by the World Bank, which recently granted a loan of 1,800 billion shillings to the Ugandan government for its implementation. It has several components, including improving and extending internet connectivity to last mile communities.
“This means that when the internet comes to a hospital, school, government offices or any other facility, the labs and administrative offices are connected so that those people can make better use of the internet,” said Zawedde.
Internet connectivity is expected to provide refugees with the infrastructure they need to educate themselves, learn new languages, acquire various job skills and improve their livelihoods. Uganda hosts around 1.5 million refugees, according to estimates by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).